Dedicated to You
by Fox McCloude
Summary: While taking a break at Pallet Town from his adventures, Ash watches on TV the show Poké-Idol Kanto. Normally, these things are not interesting for him, but since Misty is taking part, he's willing to make an exception. Written for Day 5 of the PokéShipping Week 2019, theme "If Ash heard Misty's song".


**Dedicated to You**

**By Fox McCloude.**

**Disclaimer: **Pokémon and all related characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and GAMEFREAK. All rights reserved.

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_**Pallet Town, Ketchum residence…**_

Some would think Ash Ketchum preferred to spend his time away from home, traveling free across the road. The truth, however, was that after some time of adventure, journeying and training, the Pallet Town youth appreciated returning home for a well-earned break.

Back at home, Ash could indulge in some pleasures he didn't have access to while he was out, such as his mother's cooking (in his opinion the best in the world), having some peace and quiet in his hometown, or going off to Professor Oak's ranch to train with all of his Pokémon at the same time.

That day, however, Ash was sitting in front of the TV, waiting for a certain show he was supposed to watch, at certain hour, on certain channel.

"Mom, it's about to start," he called out to Delia.

"I'm coming!" Delia replied, bringing along a huge bowl full of popcorn.

Ash was surprised to learn that Misty was taking part in the Poké-Idol Kanto singing contest. Apparently, she only did so due to his sisters' pressure, but he couldn't deny she'd done quite well, going through the first three rounds with rather high scores from the judges. The redhead certainly showed off her hidden talents whenever she wanted to.

"It's time," Ash said, grabbing the remote to tune in the channel and raising the volume.

The show's opening music began immediately, and a couple minutes later it showed the grand stage where the hostess appeared. A rather well-known face for those familiar with Pokémon Contests, but had now gone on to other entertainment media.

"Hello, good evening everyone, and welcome to a new edition of Poké-Idol Kanto! I'm your hostess Vivian Meridian, and tonight we'll have a lot of love in the air! This week's theme for our contestant is romantic music, so get ready, because hearts in love are going to beat really fast tonight!"

At the round of applause from the crowd in the studio, Ash glanced at his mom, who seemed rather excited with this week's theme. He wasn't a follower of music idols or show business in general, unless his friends were involved in it.

"And to open the night, here's our winner from last week and one of our favorites. Give it up for… Misty Waterflower from Cerulean City!"

In the middle of the applause, Misty appeared on stage, waving at the crowd before approaching Vivian. Ash was no expert in fashion, but he had to admit the redhead had chosen a rather lovely outfit for that night. Her hair was fully loose, adorned with a pair of yellow star hairclips on both sides, a yellow dress that showed off her nice figure, white arm-length gloves and matching knee-high boots.

"Good evening, Misty. So, after your overwhelming victory last week, are you planning to keep your winning streak?" Vivian asked.

"Oh, yes I am," the redhead replied. "Truth be told, I never imagined this would be so much fun. But now that I'm here, I'm planning to go all the way to the end, and if I can, even win this competition."

"Wow, those are pretty big words, but we've all seen your talent and we know you can back up the boast," Vivian continued. "So, what are you going to perform for us tonight?"

"It's a song of my own creation. Something I wrote years ago, and is very special to me." Misty turned towards the camera. "And if you're watching me now, and I know you are, listen carefully, because the reason it's special, it's because I wrote it for _you_."

Ash had the strange feeling that Misty's eyes were staring directly at him through the screen. When he turned to Delia, he saw the woman was giving him a look that clearly said that, yes, that message was for him.

"Well, without further delay, the stage is all yours! Music, maestro!"

Vivian stayed away and the reflectors on the stage turned on. Unlike Misty's previous performances, this one started with a rather solemn tune. Pretty fitting for the lyrics once she started performing the song:

"_Out here in the quiet of the night, beneath the stars… and moon._

_We both know we've got something on our minds, we won't admit… but it's true._

_You look at me… I look away…_

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start._

_I wanna tell you but now I'm afraid, that you might break my heart._

_Oh, why should anything so easy ever be so hard to do?_

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling and to say that… I love you…"_

With those first lines, Ash's full attention was on his childhood friend. He'd heard her sing before and he knew she was pretty good at it. But this song's tone was completely different.

Especially the chorus' last line, when she said "I love you".

"_I practice all the things that I could say, line by line… every word._

_I tell myself today could be the day, but every time... I lose my nerve._

_I look at you… I look away…_

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start._

_I wanna tell you but now I'm afraid, that you might break my heart._

_Oh, why should anything so easy ever be so hard to do?_

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling and to say that… I love you …"_

During that brief interlude, Misty remained silent as the music continued, and Ash glanced briefly at his mother. The woman seemed just as immerse in the melody as he was. A soft, romantic melody, but it also had a tinge of melancholy to it.

A melancholy also present in Misty's own voice, and once more when she looked at the camera, Ash had the strange feeling that her eyes stared at him directly, even through the screen.

"_Why (why)… why do you turn away?_

_It must be, you're afraid like me._

_I try (try)… but I can't pretend that I, don't feel for you the way I do… _

_Can't you see? _

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start._

_I wanna tell you but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart._

_Oh, why should anything so easy ever be so hard to do?_

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling and to say that… I love you…"_

The redhead repeated the chorus a couple more times, but at that point, Ash didn't pay any mind to the song's lyrics. His attention was focused on Misty herself, whose voice seemed to crack slightly as she approached the last verses.

Particularly every time she said "You might break my heart", the boy felt a sting in the chest for some reason. Did he really made her feel that way? He'd never meant to hurt her, at least not on purpose.

"That was… beautiful…" Delia said, wiping off her tears with a handkerchief.

Ash agreed, but at the time he was so deep into his own thoughts, he didn't pay any mind when the judges gave the score. He couldn't care less about that: in fact, he'd just seen all he cared to see about the show.

…

That night, already lying on his bed, Ash was unable to get any sleep. Misty's song still rang in his head, and he'd have it hard to get it out.

"_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start. I wanna tell you but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart."_

Did really Misty feel that for him? How long did she harbor those feelings? Why did she keep them hidden from him?

'_Look at you, how egocentric,'_ a tiny voice whispered from the back of his head. _'How are you so certain that song was meant for _you_ and not someone else?'_

Sure, it was easy to believe it was him. After all, they'd been best friends for years, and he'd never shown interest in any other girl… not in _that _way, anyway.

When he couldn't bear it anymore, Ash got back up and extended his hand towards his night table. Pikachu was curled up and sleeping by the edge of his bed, so he grabbed his cellphone carefully and lowered the volume so as to not to annoy his partner.

If he stuck to that doubt, he'd never forgive himself.

"C'mon, Misty… answer me," he muttered.

A couple minutes later, she finally answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Misty, how are you? Hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

"Not at all," she replied. Ash realized there wasn't a single tinge of sarcasm from the other side of the line. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I need to talk to you about something," he said. "Think I could go see you one of these days?"

"I don't mind, but why don't you tell me by phone right now?"

"No, I think it's better to tell you in person," Ash replied. "It's very important."

"Hmm… is it about… the song I performed on Poké-Idol tonight?" she inquired.

Ash gulped slightly before answering. Maybe she already knew it anyway, but he figured it would be best to avoid taking anything for granted.

If he never told her, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

"Yeah, it is. That's why I think it's better to tell you face to face, and not through the phone."

"I see," she replied in an understanding tone. "Yeah, I think so too. On Friday we'll have a break from the competition, so I think we could meet at the gym. Is that good for you?"

"Perfecto," he nodded. "I'll see you then. Oh, and by the way."

"Yeah?"

"… You were amazing tonight. You have a lot of talent, really. I hope you win this competition."

"Thank you, I feel really flattered," she replied. "Like I said, that song is very special to me."

Ash smiled to himself. That song would be special for him as well. For both of them.

"Okay, so… I think that was all. Goodnight, Misty. See you on Friday."

"Goodnight, Ash. Sweet dreams."

Ash ended the call and turned off the phone. Exhaling a little sigh, he suddenly felt much more relieved. Even though he didn't say anything directly, the fact that both knew it now had lifted a huge weigh off his shoulders.

Leaving the phone back on the table, he dropped himself back on the bed to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be an important day. Maybe he didn't have a song he could sing for Misty the same way, but he was sure there was a way to return those feelings.

Feelings that, unknown to the other, both shared together for a long, long time.

**FIN.**

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**Author's notes:**

Day 5, and the chosen theme was "If Ash heard Misty's Song". Again, that was something I had already tried, in fact my first Pokéshipping fic ever was centered around that, although that was about Misty singing that song for Ash as a birthday gift. Just like yesterday, I didn't want to copypaste everything and tried to give things a different twist, although this time the result was much shorter.

As a bit of additional trivia, originally I wanted to frame the song with Misty singing it while Ash is asleep, and then he wakes up pretending he didn't hear a thing, to reveal with his inner monologue that, indeed, he had heard the whole thing. But then I thought, many had done that before, so I took a different approach. In my headcanon, Misty has her fair share of talent for dancing and singing, except she keeps it under wraps barring special occasions.

So, I guess that's pretty much it. Only two more days to end the week. See ya all tomorrow!


End file.
